Sooyoung

Choi Soo-young, known mononymously as Sooyoung, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter born on February 10, 1990, in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea. She is best known as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation, which debuted in 2007 and became one of the best-selling and most widely recognized music acts in South Korea and internationally. Alongside her work with the group, Choi has built an extensive career in television dramas, feature films, solo music, and lyric writing.

Choi was raised alongside her older sister, musical theatre actress Choi Soo-jin. Discovered through an audition in fifth grade, Choi won the 2002 Korea-Japan Ultra Idol Duo Audition and debuted in Japan with the singing duo Route 0. The duo released three singles before disbanding in 2003. Choi then returned to South Korea, debuting with Girls' Generation in 2007. She graduated from JeongShin Women's High School in 2009 and earned a film studies degree from Chung-Ang University in 2016, where she received a lifetime achievement award.

Girls' Generation achieved mainstream popularity following their 2009 single "Gee." As a group member, Choi contributed lyrics to songs such as "How Great is Your Love," "Sailing (0805)," "What Do I Do," "Baby Maybe," "Seventeen," and "Villain." She also recorded collaborative music, including "KKok" and "Feeling Only You," and contributed the soundtrack single "Wind Flower" for her drama My Spring Days.

Choi pursued acting interest early on, succeeding after failing more than 70 auditions prior to her musical debut. Following initial small appearances in works like Unstoppable Marriage and Hello, Schoolgirl, she secured her first major role in the 2012 drama The Third Hospital. She subsequently earned critical acclaim for lead roles in Dating Agency: Cyrano and My Spring Days. Her performance in My Spring Days earned her the Best Actress in a Miniseries title at the 2014 MBC Drama Awards and the Excellence Award for Actress at the 2015 Korea Drama Awards.

Her subsequent acting credits include Squad 38, Man in the Kitchen, Tell Me What You Saw, Run On, So I Married the Anti-fan, If You Wish Upon Me, Not Others, Second Shot at Love, and I Dol I, alongside films such as Memories of a Dead End. In October 2017, Choi left SM Entertainment while remaining a member of Girls' Generation. She joined Echo Global Group, releasing her first solo single "Winter Breath" in 2018, before moving to Saram Entertainment in 2019. In October 2024, she made her solo Japanese debut with the single "Unstoppable."

Choi was in a relationship with actor Jung Kyung-ho from 2012 to 2026. She has participated in various philanthropic causes, serving as an ambassador for the Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, the Korean Day of Overcoming Rare Diseases, the Social Welfare Council, and the National Disability Awareness Improvement Campaign. To support research and awareness for Retinitis Pigmentosa, she launched the clothing brand Beaming Effect and organized multiple charity bazaars and concerts.